The BPCC think-tank meeting on November 12th was well attended and a tremendous success. The attendees represented a wide cross-section of business industries including real estate, business prospecting, food innovation, marketing, pricing strategy, business coaching, film production and more. A great deal of energy and enthusiasm was derived from the group’s ability to approach key business topics from different and valuable perspectives based on the nature of their own business focus.
Initially, the group launched into a debate on the importance of every business to be able to define its value proposition in relation to its customer or client audience. The group discussed how you have to go beyond just having a new product or service to sell, but to ensuring that the way your business is positioned in market resonates with it’s audience, is differentiated from the competition and can substantiate the claims that it makes regarding benefits and performance.
The group also focused on the importance of not only positioning your brand or business from the customer’s perspective but ensuring that the customers’ unique needs are taken into consideration. Talking to your audience before you launch was seen as an essential part of getting your value proposition right and making a success of your business.
A healthy exchange of ideas was also had around how best to sell within the Portuguese market and how being patient and waiting for business relationships to develop was essential. Unlike the UK, that makes very quick decisions regarding new business engagements, some of the Portuguese members of the group shared their thinking on how Portuguese businesses are more likely to take their time when making decisions on new initiatives and business partners, and one had to allow for a longer time line in realising new business.
The meal itself was exceptional and reflected the growing trend towards vegetarianism, and the main course was a delicious tagliatelle with a tomato cream-based sauce followed by a dessert of raspberries, ice cream and golden apple sponge cake.
Everyone left the event feeling that they had been given an excellent opportunity to access new business contacts and new ideas and knowledge to apply to their businesses.
Text: Janie Curtis
